


Miss Atomic Bomb

by coffeemuke (dammitclifford), discardedartist



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers - Freeform, Avengers Family, Awkward Flirtation, Bitchy Natasha Romanoff, F/F, Fem!Steve, Fem!Stony, Fem!Tony, Tony Stark/Steve Rogers - Freeform, lesbiansexytimes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-01
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-07 01:32:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4244469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dammitclifford/pseuds/coffeemuke, https://archiveofourown.org/users/discardedartist/pseuds/discardedartist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A cute new recruit comes to the Avengers team, and falls for Stephanie Rogers. Together, they save the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Miss Atomic Bomb

      “Listen up.” Fury’s voice echoes through the room, spreading silence over the avengers. “I’m bringing in an expert to assist Doctor Banner in the lab. She’s the best in her line of work and she will be an asset to this team.” He glares at everyone, individually around the table. Thor seems to be the only one pleased with this news.

      “Why do we need more people? We’re a good team as is.” Romanov says, standing and picking up the file sitting in front of Fury on the glass table.

      “She’s good. And she’s eating her way through the breakfast buffet in the mess hall, so I suggest you all welcome her to the avengers.” Fury leaves the folder with Romanov and walks off towards the lab.

      “Well? I say we greet this scientist.” Thor gleams. Bruce nods silently, then stands and announces that he, at least, is going to introduce himself. Thor trails behind him. This leaves Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Stephanie Rogers.

      “Fury makes it sound like she’s staying indefinitely so why the hell not?” Romanov tosses the file back on to the table and looks between the other two avengers. “Barton?” She asks after a moment. He sighs, but stands and escorts her down the hall after the others.

      Stephanie stands and walks around the table to thumb through the file for herself.

      “Toni Stark.” She says to herself. After a few pages in, she rolls her eyes. How could Fury assign this woman to their team? She’s rich, so they are probably working a funding angle, but she’s clearly unstable. Constantly splurging on lavish cars, vacation homes, and even a skyscraper with her name on the front of it, Toni can’t hold a dime in her pocket without it burning a hole.

      Stephanie mimics Romanov in tossing the file onto the table. She runs a hand through her long, blonde hair and decides to pull it back into a ponytail. The file catches her eye again. She only went a good half way through it, but that means Toni could have some awful secret on the second to last page… right?

      As the seconds pass, the compulsion to know floods her mind.

      _Just pick it up._

      _You know it’s going to bother you._   

      _Best to find out a flaw now than in the heat of a battle._

_Come on, just look at it already._

_It’s killing you._

      “Enough.” Stephanie shouts to herself. She holds her head in her hand, then reaches a hand into the pocket of her sweatpants to pull out a small pill bottle. She shakes the dosage into her hand and pops it back.She eyes the file one last time before heading towards the lab.

      Fury stands staring out of the window into the cargo bay below.

      “I knew you’d come up with something.” He says without turning around.

      “Come up with something for what?” Toni asks. This turns him around.

      “Not you.” He says.

      “Sir I think you need to reconsider—“ Stephanie barges in, catching her tongue when her eyes meet Toni’s. The new hire gives the captain a once over, grinning as she pops a blueberry into her mouth.

      “Care to finish that sentence, Cap?” Toni asks, clearly unconcerned about Stephanie’s opinions.

      “Yes, as a matter of fact. Only these words aren’t for your ears, Stark.” She replies coldly. Toni nods and begins to walk out, but pauses when she is right beside the soldier.

      “I’ll see that sweet ass around, then.” Toni slaps the woman’s ass as she leaves. Fury suppresses laughter.

      “She’s a flirt.” He smiles calmly as if having already witnessed this on multiple unexpecting victims.

      “You’re telling me, sir.” The captain says trying to force herself to stop blushing.

      “So you want me to reconsider Stark.” His tone turns serious now.

      “Yes sir. I think she is immature, inconsiderate, and I don’t think she has it in her to take this seriously—“

      “You didn’t finish reading the file, did you, Rogers?” Fury asks, cutting her off. Stephanie hesitates, but answers truthfully.      

      “Didn’t think so. See, at the end of that account is a small stack of papers joined by a paperclip. Do you want me to give you a summary, Captain, or do you prefer reading?” He asks.

      “If it’s no trouble, I’m more of an auditory learner, sir.” Stephanie responds politely. Fury turns back towards the window, hiding a smile from the woman.

      “Three years ago Stark was ambushed in an airport in the Middle East. She’s had a record of making and dealing all kinds of weapons. Her past finally caught up to her and she was taken to an underground facility. Sure, S.H.I.E.L.D. had trackers implanted, but her captors scanned and dug out every single one.”

      Stephanie shudders just thinking about that degree of pain.

      “Stark was tortured for four straight months. Most of that was physical. Fists, knives, guns, ropes, and a handful of other things that weren’t much more pleasant. She stuck it out, Rogers. She didn’t give up a single thing about S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of its operatives. They killed people in front of her; friends and contacts that she had there. She watched children bleed to death and there was nothing that she could do to stop it except give them our secrets. Eventually we were able to extract her, but two weeks after she got home, she tried to kill herself. We had someone checking on her every once in a while and thank God we did.”

      Stephanie tries to swallow the lump of wet cement stuck in her throat, but it doesn’t help.

      “I don’t think she ever fully recovered from that. She’s been better, though. Evident PTSD, frequent anxiety attacks and severe depression, Captain. That’s what this woman is made of and she just slapped your ass. If she can manage to hide those things that well, then I think she’s good enough to take seriously.” Fury finishes. He waits a moment before turning back around to face her. Stephanie finds his eyes and begins fidgeting with her fingers.

      “I didn’t mean any disrespect sir, it’s just—“

      “You judged a book by her cover. You didn’t get the whole story, is all. Chin up, Captain. You’ve got work cut out for you.” The Director nods to her, then leaves the lab swiftly and quietly.

      Stephanie pulls out a stool from under a work table and holds her head in her hands.

      _Idiot. ‘Judging a book by the cover.’ That’s the first thing you’re taught to not do in preschool. Unbelievable. Fury thinks that much lower of you now. Selfish, stupid—_

      “Hey there gorgeous.” Stephanie looks up and finds Toni standing in the doorway, her previous vivacious tone faded into a more serious one. Toni pulls a stool over to the table Stephanie sits at and settles across from her. “Fury told me that he filled you in on me.” Toni informs the captain.

      “Stark, from what I read in your file, you’re brilliant. I strongly believe that you will be an appreciated addition to our team. I’m just sorry that I didn’t welcome you the way that you deserved.” Stephanie rests her head in one hand again. Toni takes the other, making the soldier jump.

      “Sorry,” Toni says automatically and places her hands in her lap. “I came here to tell you that I’m glad you know. It’s not something I really want everyone else to know, though. People find out about those sorts of things and pity you. I don’t want that when I’m trying to build relationships here. You understand?”

      Stephanie’s mind is still trying to process why she jumped when Toni touched her hand.

      “Of course. I wasn’t planning to bring it up, or anything. I’m not that sort of person.” She says a little quickly. Toni’s serious face melts away and her flirtatious one returns.

      “Can I buy you a drink sometime?” she asks. Stephanie, caught off guard, tries to stand up from her seat, making excuses about having to be elsewhere. Toni laughs softly, grabbing the captain’s hand before she could leave the lab. “I won’t stop trying, Cap. That ass is way too cute to give up on so easily.”

      Stephanie feels her face take the shade of a tomato and hurries out of the lab. As straightforward and blunt as Toni was, Stephanie had to admit that she was cute.

 

      Later, Stephanie finds herself alone in the mess hall. She is an hour late for lunch, but the cook knows to expect this and pulls out a tray from the oven.

      “I kept it warm for you, Miss.” He says, passing her a fork with it.

      “Thanks.” She says simply, mind wandering in other places.

      Stephanie slides into a seat by the wall, taking slow bites to savor the flavor. The vegetable soup is delicious and the corn bread is just soft enough. Her thoughts are interrupted by Toni. The girl walks in wearing only a long tee shirt, asking for any extra cornbread. One of the chefs passes her a plate of five squares, to which she smiles like a kid on Christmas morning.

      “Hey, look what the cat dragged in.” Toni says happily, noticing the cafeteria’s only other occupant. “Mind if I sit?” she asks.

      “Please, go ahead.” Stephanie says genuinely, gesturing to one of the other spots at the picnic-style table. Toni sits right across from her, sitting Indian style on the bench.

      “Do you always eat this late, or is this an anomaly?” Stark asks, chewing her cornbread and talking at the same time.

      “Don’t do that. It’s gross.” Stephanie says, shoveling some more of the soup into her mouth.

      “What?” Toni questions innocently.

      “Talking with you mouth full like that. You’re going to choke and it’s bad manners.”

      Toni swallows the bread obediently. “So, you gonna answer the question?” she presses.

      “It happens every once in a while. I get busy and forget to eat, so I come later.”

      Toni whispers something into her next bite of bread. Stephanie was willing to bet it was something along the lines of ‘that’s what she said.’ For the next few minutes the pair eat in silence. Stephanie finishes off her lunch and Toni offers her a piece of cornbread.

      “This is nice.” Toni says, making note to swallow her food before speaking. “You’re the only other person here besides Banner that seems to enjoy the quiet. It’s refreshing.” She crosses her arms on the table and rests her head. Stephanie glances at the plate and realizes Toni has two more pieces of cornbread.

      “Giving up?” Stephanie laughs softly.

      “Just sleepy.” Toni moans through a yawn. She closes her eyes and smacks her lips quietly like a tired newborn. It only takes her a minute to fall fast asleep. Stephanie wraps the remaining cornbread in a napkin and takes their dishes to the window for the dishwashers.

      The captain notices how peaceful Toni looks when she’s sleeping. Not about to leave her alone in the cafeteria, Rogers grabs the cornbread and picks up the scientist in her arms, carrying her bridal style back to the living quarters.

      The entire way there Toni sleeps soundly. Stephanie looks at the name tags on each of the doors until she finds Toni’s. Rogers lays her down on the bed and pulls a blanket over her. She nearly forgets that she has Toni’s cornbread. Looking for a place to set it, Stephanie settles on the nightstand by the bunk.

      She hadn’t noticed it much before, but when Stephanie turns off the lights she sees a circular blue light coming from Toni’s chest.

      _That’s a story for another day, I suppose_ , Stephanie tells herself.

      She eases the door shut turns towards her room, conveniently directly across the hall. Stephanie smiles at the happy accident as she slips into her own room. Without a moment’s hesitation, she strips down to her undergarments and looks through her dresser for a tee shirt.

      “Hey Cap, you awake in there?”

      “Awake and half naked. What is it Banner?” she continues searching for a night shirt, expecting the doctor to wait outside.

      He opens the door and invites himself in with a hand over his eyes. “Sorry. It’s important.”

      “Bruce, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before.” She says calmly, slipping a shirt on with a graphic of her shield on it.

      “That’s just dorky.” Bruce says laughing.

      “I like it, and I’m wearing it. What’s the problem?” She opens another drawer and pulls out a pair of worn grey sweatpants.

      “It’s nothing bad, just a couple of us meeting up in the lab. I thought you would want to be there.” He says, trying to look anywhere but her while she pulls on her pants.

      “Lead the way, Doctor.” Stephanie says. She hits the lights on their way out, but stops Banner in the hall. “Should I wake Toni?” She asks.

      “The meeting is _about_ Toni, Captain.” He says in a tone that doesn’t insinuate positivity.

      Thor, Romanov and Barton are sitting in the lab when the two arrive. Romanov seems to have called the meeting based on everyone’s posture.

      “What’s this about, Nat?” Stephanie asks, spotting Toni’s file on the table behind the red head.

      “Toni’s file. Did you read it?” She looks directly at Stephanie, only questioning her.

      “Yes. I did.”

      “Then you know why I’ve called this meeting.” She circles around the table and begins picking out pictures and papers until she finds the packet held together with a staple that Fury had mentioned earlier.

      “Stop it Nat.” Stephanie says, ripping the papers from the other woman’s hand.

      “What’s up your ass? Star Spangling Dr. Banner?” Romanov teases. Stephanie gathers the pictures and scattered papers and returns them to the folder.

      “Bruce and I are good friends, Nat, and you know it.” Stephanie closes the folder and holds it instinctively against her chest.

      “So why are you so protective of newbie, Rogers?” Nat asks. Stephanie knows that Romanov couldn’t possibly know all of her reasons, but she could probably figure out a way to put it very simply and mostly wrong.

      “You like her, don’t you?”

      And there you have it. She disregards all of the factual reasons like common ground or a mutual understanding of one another and goes right for the gut shot.

      “Oh my god, you _do_.” She says after Stephanie doesn’t respond.

      “Piss off Widow.” Rogers spits. Everyone is taken back, even Romanov. Stephanie Rogers never swears. If she does, you know she means it. “I’m really disappointed in you. All of you. I was giving you all way too much credit. I’m ashamed to call you my team.” Stephanie turns to leave, and almost succeeds when Romanov speaks up.

     “Your team?” she retorts. Stephanie cracks her neck, sets the folder down, and attacks Romanov. It takes a moment for anyone to react, probably because of the sheer shock of it all, but by the time Thor picks Stephanie up off of the super spy, Romanov’s nose is broken and bloody and her left eye has begun to bleed a little and swell.

     “My title isn’t ‘Captain’ for no reason, asshole.” Stephanie grabs the file and storms out, back to her room. The sweatpants come off. The shirt peels off. Her hair comes out of the ponytail and Stephanie flops onto the bed, not even trying to bother with the sheets.

     She is nearly asleep when someone knocks on the door.

     Stephanie moans in response.

     The door creaks open and someone walks inside. Stephanie picks up her alarm clock and checks the time. “It’s nearly four in the morning, what do you want?” she asks quietly.

     “Sorry. I had a nightmare. I didn’t know where else to go.” Stephanie sits up, rubs her eyes, and realizes that it’s Toni. “You know what, I’m sorry. I’m just gonna go.” She says, turning to leave.

     “Wait, it’s okay. I wasn’t getting much sleep anyway. Besides, usually when I'm woken up in the middle of the night it's to go on mission. I thought that's what this was.” Stephanie explains, making room on the end of her bunk for Toni to sit.

     “Bruce came by a little while ago. He knocked on your door and thought you were ignoring him so he gave you this whole apology speech. It was actually really sweet; I was tearing up a little. What’d he do? He sounded really sincere, Cap. Whatever it was he was being genuine.” Toni rambles.

     “He did something that I disapprove of. He made me mad and I told him I was ashamed of him.“ Stephanie says in a near whisper.

     “I’m sure you had good reason.” Toni says, fiddling with her hands. Stephanie takes one and rubs the back with her thumb.

     “It was a very good reason.” Rogers smiles to herself.

     “Do you mind if I stay here for a few more hours?” Toni asks. “I don’t like being alone.” Stephanie slides over to the side of the bed to give Toni room on the pillow.

     Once settled on the small bed, their bodies overlap but neither mind it. Toni reaches behind her and finds Stephanie’s hand, then wraps Rogers’ arm around her middle. Stephanie smiles and even though Toni can’t see it, she smiles too.

 

     The two are woken by a sharp knock. Stephanie sits straight up, climbs over Toni and hurries to the door. She cracks the door open.

     “Coulson? Morning, sir.” She looks past him to make sure he is alone.

     “Stark is missing. Have you seen or heard anything?” He asks bluntly. Stephanie opens the door all the way and points to Toni. She has her mouth wide open and is sprawled over most of the bed. Coulson mutters something under his breath and Stephanie pretends not to hear him.

     “She couldn’t sleep so she came in here this morning.”

     “I’m just glad to know she’s okay.”

     “Did you alert anyone else?” she asks, thinking only of Romanov and what her response would be to this.

     “No. I’ve just been checking the rooms. No one is suspicious. They all thought she would have snuck off to find a midnight snack or try and beat everyone to breakfast.” Coulson smiles.

     “I’ll make sure she gets down there, sir.” Stephanie says. Coulson nods and walks back down the hall. Before she can turn around, Toni walks up behind her and wraps her arms around Stephanie’s waist, letting her fingers wander under the hem of the captain’s shirt.

     “You’re sure we can’t skip breakfast?” Toni asks. Stephanie turns around, giving Toni the chance to slip her hands down her back.

     “They’re all expecting us. Sometimes they have pancakes.” Stephanie brushes a piece of hair out from Toni’s face and smiles.“Besides I could really use some coffee.”

     “Fine.” Toni slowly pulls her hands back, trailing her fingers back around to Stephanie’s front.

     Stephanie pulls on a sweatshirt and sweatpants and puts her hand on the doorknob.

     “Wait.” Toni objects. She walks over and plants one on Stephanie’s cheek.. Toni pulls away and opens the door herself, slapping the captain’s ass on her way out. Stephanie smiles to herself, then makes her way to the mess hall.

     The first thing she does is make herself a coffee in the largest size on the table. She pours in a generous amount of cream and sugar, stirring it in, looking around for the other avengers. Romanov and Barton are sitting together, as usual, and Banner is with Thor. He is stirring his coffee, too, and looks rather sad.

     Stephanie makes her way to the boys and slides into the open seat beside Bruce. “I’m sorry about last night. Nat was just—“

     “Being a bitch?” Bruce offers, cutting her off.

     “Yeah.” Stephanie sips her coffee, puts a hand on Bruce’s and holds one out to Thor. “We’re the avengers. But we’re never going to be able to help the rest of the world if we’re fighting each other. I’m going to ask that either Romanov be transferred or that I never have to work a job with her. I’ll make this up to you. You guys are my best friends and I don’t want to lose that over a petty fight.”

      “I can’t speak for Dr. Banner, but I thought the conflict was amusing, not negative. It was time someone stand up to her. I’m glad it was you.” Thor pats the back of Stephanie’s hand and resumes his plate of bacon and eggs.

     “It was pretty boss.” Bruce says grinning into another sip of coffee.

     “Well, in that case I think drinks are in order.” Stephanie says. “First round’s on me tonight fellas. Fury says we’re making a stop for fuel and supplies. I think he said we’ll be docked for seven or eight hours.”

     “Plenty of time to get star spangled hammered, then.” Bruce says. Stephanie smiles thinking about how great a friend he has been. And she thought she’d lost it all when she couldn’t keep control over her temper.

     “Hey guys. Mind if I sit?” Toni asks holding a plate of pancakes and a bowl full of something unfamiliar to Stephanie with cheese sitting on top.

     “Sure thing, Iron Woman.” Thor says offering her a piece of bacon. Toni happily accepts, but dips the bacon into the bowl of something resembling white sand before eating it.

     “What is that?” Stephanie asks, pointing to the bowl.

     “Grits. I like mine with cheese.” Toni says stirring the lump of shredded cheese into the rest of it. She looks up to see three bewildered faces looking back at her. “Oh come on. None of you have had grits? Here, everybody get a spoonful.” She pushes the bowl into the middle of the trio. Bruce shrugs and goes for it. Thor goes next and Stephanie right after.

     They’re warm and buttery and salty, and the cheese adds a lot of flavor. The little grains feel funny in Stephanie’s mouth, but she enjoys it.

     “Grits.” She tries the word on her tongue. “They’re very good.”

     “And they’re even better with shrimp. Grits are a southern thing. I picked it up from this boyfriend I had once. But that’s when I lived in New Orleans. And I’ll tell you, those people know how to cook. Damn.” She laughs, thinking about her past adventures. Stephanie still holds on to the word ‘boyfriend.’

     “I know the Captain is from Brooklyn, and Thor’s Asgardian, but where are you from, Banner?” Toni asks, shoveling another spoon of grits into her mouth.

     “Northern California. Nothing special but I was raised good.”

     Toni nods and turns to Thor. “What’s it like in Asgard. I’ve only ever heard stories from the books.”

     “Maybe I could show you sometime. It’s a vast place, truly beautiful. The palace is my favorite place. It’s tall and massive; you could spend hours going through every room. And it’s home.” Toni grins and cuts into her pancake.

     “It sounds like you really love it.”

     “Yes. I do.” Thor smiles now, too. It’s funny the way memories can make you do that.

     “Hey, Toni. We were just talking about going out for drinks tonight. You wanna come?” Bruce asks. Stephanie nods to encourage her friend when Toni looks to her.

     “Only if that means I can do tequila shots.” She laughs. The other three join in. Stephanie watches the way Toni’s whole body shakes when she laughs. It’s rather adorable.

     “It’s a date, then.” Thor says raising his coffee to cheer with the others. They clink their foam coffee cups against Thor’s.

     “Hey Bruce, would you mind showing me around the lab? I wanted to check it out today before we dock in case I needed to make a run for parts.” Toni asks.

     “Parts? What for?” He asks.

     “I wanted to try and update my suit. Just some kinks I’m smoothing out. No big deal.”

     “Sure thing. I’ll take you as soon as you’re done eating.” He says. Stephanie looks over and notices something in the way he looks at her…almost like he does when he looks at Stephanie.

     “Do any of you know anything about motorcycles?” Toni asks looking up from her empty bowl.

     “I’ve got one but it got messed up a while back. It’s somewhere down in storage I think.” Stephanie says. Toni’s eyes brighten, the gears beginning to turn in her head.

     “I’ll fix it, then. Whatever it needs doing. I’ll have it back and better than ever in no time. This is so exciting.” She squeals, chugging the remainder of her coffee. She shovels the last of her pancake into her mouth and waves Bruce out of his seat. She looks around the cafeteria almost frantically.

     “I’ll take your dishes for you when I go.” Stephanie says. Relief visibly washes over Toni’s face. She swallows, says thank you, and hurries Banner out, asking where storage is.

     “You like her?” Thor asks with a smile.

     “Yeah. I really do.” Stephanie feels her cheeks go rosy, but she continues to watch Toni and Bruce until they round a corner. “So, do you know any good pubs in Ireland?”


End file.
